Cereal cutter



SePLB, 19u45- F. IYELFIELDA 2,406,773

CEREAL CUTTER Filed Oct. 7' 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR,

ATTQRNEYS K Sept. 3', 194s.

F. c. IELFIELD 2,406,773

C'EREAL CUTTER Filed Oct, 7, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 3,1946l i CEREAL CUTTER Fred C. Ielfield, Silver Creek, N. Y., assignor toy Silver Creek Precision v Corporation, Silver Creek, N. Y., a corporation ofNew York Application October 7, 1944, Serial No.'557,627

1 Claim. (Cl. 14S-71.5)

This invention relates to a cereal cutter and more particularly for cutting corn, wheat, rye, beans, oats and all other hard cereal grains from whole'kernels in the `preparation of chicken and animal feed. This invention is an improvement on the cereal cutter described and claimed in my United States Patent No. 1,973,169, dated September 11, 1934.

The principal object vof this invention is to provide a cerealy cutterwhich requires a very small amount of power to operate and which will rapidly and eiiiciently cut large amounts of grains to adesired uniform maximum size and in which all grindingV action is avoided S that practically the entire output is of a uniform size as'compared with cutters now on the market which produce a relatively large amount of very small pieces of grain and powder.

Another object of the present invention is to provide'such a cutter which will handle large amounts of material and will not choke or clog up, special provision being made to prevent the grain being cut from compacting in the throat adjacent the cutting knives.

Another purpose is to provide such a cereal f cutter which is readily adjustable from the exterior to provide any desired maximum size of material so that the cutter can be efficiently used in cutting small batches of grain in which different sizes are required to be produced.

' Another purpose is to provide a rotary cutter head which is cylindrical in form and from the periphery of which only a small extent of the blades project. This not only prevents the rotary cutter head from becoming clogged but also prevents very substantial amounts of the partly cut grain from being'carried around with the head, such carrying around being disadvantageous since it not only increases the power required to operate the rotary head but also results in a grinding action on the kernels and reduces the uniformity of the product.

Another object is to improve the cutting eili- 'ciency of the cereal cutter, in particular to so arrange the stationary knife as to meet the rotary knives rat an angle, this arrangement having been found to provide cleaner cutting with less power and to reduce breakage of the kernels and wear upon the knives.

Another object is to provide a. simple and secure meansy for mounting Ythe knives to project from the periphery of the rotary cutter head,v these means being of simple construction, permitting ready access to the knives for the purpose ofadjusting, resharpening and replacement f in properly adjusted position.

and also serving to securely hold the knives in their adjusted operative position.

Other purposes are to provide such a .cutter in which there is no danger of uncut or oversize grain passing through the machine; is entirely adjustable throughout; can be readily taken apart and cleaned or repaired; provides no space for the accumulation of materials; is extremely `simple and inexpensive in construction andA will operate at high efrciency for a long period of time and under adverse conditions without getting out of order or requiring resharpening or replacement of any of the elements.

, In the accompanying drawings:

, Fig. 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional View through a cereal cutter embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a Vertical transverse section, through the cereal cutter. Y

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section, taken on line 3 3, Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of a backing plate for one of the knives, these backing plates jointly forming the periphery of the cylindrical rotary cutter head and also serving to hold the knives Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of one Vof the cutting blades. While the form of the cutter canbe varied greatly as to detail, as shown in the drawings, the invention is applied to a grain cutter having end heads I5 to which side plates I6 and II are secured in any suitable manner as by providing anges on the side plates I6 and II and securing these to the end heads I5 by fastenings I8. The upper ends of the end heads I5 are rounded and carry a sheetrmetal vcover I9 which rises from the side plate I6 and terminates near the top. To the end heads are also secured by screws 20 or in any other suitable manner a cross bar 2| which extends downwardly from the upper end of the top I9 and forms one wall of a hopper 22. The wall I1 is formed at its upper end to provide an inwardly extending shelf 23 which slopes upwardly and inwardly from the wall I1- and, as hereinafter described, carries the stationary cutting blade and above this shelf is arranged an angular plate 24 having a. lower part 25 which is arranged parallel with and above the shelf 23 and an upper part 26 which forms a support for the lower inclined wall 21 of the hopper 22.

This hopper 22 includes a sheet metal structure having end Walls 28 and side walls 29. One of the side walls 29 lits against the bar 2l and the inclined wall 2'! rests upon the upper leg 2li of the angular plate 2li, the lo-wer end of the inclined Wall 27 extending downwardly past the throat of the hopper and into close proximity to the stationary cutting blade, as hereinafter described.

The rotary cutter head, indicated generally at 30, includes a shaft 3l suitably vjoufrnaled in roller bearings 32 provided in the end heads l5, which roller bearings are preferably so constructed that they can be packed with grease. This shaft 3| can be provided with a drive pulley 33 which is adapted to be connected to a power source by a belt (not shown). 'The shaft 3l lis shown as provided with a spline groove 3A 'and on this shaft is secured a plurality of square heads 35, each of lthese heads 'being s'ecured'by Aa key 35 to the spline groove 3A. To hold the square heads 35 against axial displacement, screws 38 are provided which extend into screw holes providedin the -main shaft '34.

The square heads 35 are of identical size and shape and are Yarranged so that each face of each head lies in the same plane as the correresponding faces o'f the other two heads. These heads are arranged vso that one-is at the-center ofthe shaft Sil and `one adjacent each end lhead l and four knife blades 40 are secured to the four faces vof each of these square heads, each `of these knife blades being thereby supported a't its center land -at lits-opposite rends on `a corresponding square head 35.

Each of the'kni-feblades 'f is'ihthe form of a flat blade of elongated .rectangular -for-rn 'with -its opposite longitudinal e'dg'e'ssharpened toprovide cutting edges, as 4hereinafter described, 'only one of these cutting edges being used at one time. VAs best show-n Lin Fig. 5, each Jo'f the cutters is provided with three slots il! whichiare -elongated transversely of 'the Y,blade and '.r'egi'ster with screw holes d2 provided at Ithe center of each of lthe four faces of eachs'quare head 35. The blades 'lili 'aresecur'edlby screws d'3 whichextend 'through theislots 42| Iinto .the screw holes '222. Tt

'will therefore be seen .that upon loosening lthe screws i3 for one 'blade lthe lelongated slots lll permit "of `adjusting this 'blade transversely of the axis of the shaft 3|, thereby lto adjust the cutting effect of this blade .as -well1as to permit of 'compensating for the narrowing fof 'the knife lblade through repeated resharpening.

The body of the rotary fcutter 30 is Aof -cylinf drical form, the periphery oi' `the 'cylindrical cutter being provided by a backing plate 'd'5 'for `each knife, these 'backing plates '45 :being lsecured .in p'osition by 'the screws E3. As best shown Jin Fig. 4, each of "these backing Aplates [i5 Aisfor-rned to provide a curved face iid which is 'concentric with the axis of the main shaft 3| when vrsecured in position by `the `screws '43 so that 'these curved faces d5 of the four backing :plates 45 jointly provide `a cylindrical face when Vassembled in the rotary cutter 353. At one side the curved face 'lii of 4each knife terminates in -a feather edge lili which is provided by a iat 'face 49 vadapted to bear against the face of the blade 4E! to which -itis secured :by the screws 133. On its opposite side from its .feather edge 48 each backing lplate i5 is formed to .provide a flat face 5S which is arranged at right angles '-to its -iat face de vand serves to `provide a shoulder against which the adjacent knife blade d is held `'by its 'backing .plate 55, the flat lface 58 of each backing .plate being vcop'lanar with the adjacent races of the square heads 135 (for `this purpose. To re- Ytion -to the direction of rotation of the shaft 3|,

this being clockwise, as Viewed in Fig. 2. On this blade d is then arranged one of the backing 'plates i5, this backing plate being so arranged 'that its Ifeather Aedge 45 is in juxtaposition to the effective cutting edge of its blade ill and so that its fiat face 5d is coplanar with the next succeeding `faces of the square heads 35. The screws i3 are then inserted through the holes B2i in this backing plate, slots il lin this 'blade ll and into the ycorresponding screw holes 42 of the square heads 35. VThe second cutting blade llil is then positioned against 'the :next succeeding faces of the square heads 35 with its 'inner face against the flat face 5E] Aof .the backing .plate 'd'5 just assembled .and with its effective cutting edge projecting outwardly from vthe curved face Lid of this Vbacking plate e5 just assembled. A second backing ,plate 155 is then 'secured .by .its screws d3 in the same manner as with the yfirst backing plate. The third and fourth :sets of blades Ald vand backing .plates 'd'5 aresecured "by screws i3 to Ithe'rernaining -fac'es ofthe square heads 35 in the same rrn'anner vandthe completely assembled vcutter head di] thereby is .in the form of a cylinder, the periphery :of which is jointly provided by the curved facesiof the fourbacking plates d5, 'the lblades v4! projecting outwardly from this 'periphery at vright 'angles 'to eachother and each `parallel with :a radius 'of the rotary cutter 30.

Before tightening the screws "d3, each of athe blades 13|! is adjusted to pro-ject :outwardly `from zthe cylindrical surface vprovided vby the vcurved faces l of the backing `plates l5 yto an Iextent determined -by `the vdesired size vof -the granular `cut material produced vby vthe cutter. The .screws 43 eare then tightened to hold the cut-- ters @il in Ythis adjusted position.

The projecting cutting edges of the several vrotary cutter blades 40 cooperate with a stationary cutter blade 55 which is :mounted -on the angular shelf 23 and `which 'is secured thereon by screws -56 the Shanks of which extend 'through transversely extending elongated vslots '5B pro'- vided in the stationary Acutter blade 55. :It will particularly be noted that since Ythe stationary blade 55 is mounted on the shelf 23 which in- .clines upwardly and inwardly toward the center of the machine, -the stationary cutting vblade .55 is arranged at an angle .to each rotary vcutter blade which it meets. -It is apparent that upon loosening each of the screws r5t the stationary blade 55 can be adjusted inwardly ror Joutwardly to follow the blades 40 as they Vare adjusted'inwardly kor outwardly.

`It will be seen that theisize of :the grain 'when cut is determined by the extent to which -the movable cutter blades A0 are adjusted inwardly or outwardlyand not .by lthe 'gap between the rotary cutter blades 40 and the stationary cutter blade 55. Thus, kupon reference Vto Fig. A2, 'it `is apparent Vthat upon yadjusting the .rotary Icutter blades All inwardly a much smaller cut will be 'takenoff from 'the grain thanwhen itis ad- .plates 45.

justed outwardly. The stationaryblade 55, however,-must be adjustable since it is desirable .to have the gap betweenjthe-blades as Vsmall as possible. The rotary blades are therefore adjustedto provide the desired size of the com- Y minuted material and the stationary blade 55 is brought up to provide the desired space between it and the rotary blades. It is also apparent, as best shown in Fig. 2, vthat the effective part of the cutter head 30 is cylindrical in form and is broken only by the slight extension of the cutter blades out from the peripheral face provided by the curved faces 46 of the several backing By this means the tendency of the rotary cutter head 35 to pick up and idly carry around a large quantity of partly cut or uncut grain is greatly reduced since the only impellers provided are the comparatively small extensions of the blades 40.

Instead of employing straight cutting edges and 55, each cutting edge of each of these blades :is preferably serrated and indented, as best shown in Fig. 5. In providing such a cutting edge each longitudinal side of each lblade is rst beveled, as indicated at 63. The face of the blade adjacent each sharper edge formed by this bevel 63 is then formed to provide a plurality of notches 64 which are V-shaped in cross section and arranged one after the other the full length of the cutting edge. With the blade formed in this manner it is apparent that in plan the cutting blades are provided with a plurality of V-shaped teeth 65 of regular form and that these teeth are also V-shaped when viewed edgewise of the knife. These teeth, therefore, have sharp cutting points and provide a serrated edge. The

f "ln forderte retard the vvelocity ofthe stream lof grain flowing through the hopper 22 toits throat; retarding bales l5 can be provided in this hopper. The cutgrain falling from the screen 661s also preferablyy directed by an inclined apron 16 to one side of the cutter Where it can be con- .veniently collected and conveyed away.

,Iny operation it is apparent that the stream of grain admitted to the hopper 22 is retarded in its downward movement by the baille l5 and passes through the throat at the lower end of this hopper into the zone of action of the cutting blades. The rotary blades 40 then engage the grain resting upon the stationary blade 55 and cut off a slice or piece of each grain, the size ofy this slice or piece being determined by the .degree to which the rotary blades 40 project outwardly from the cylindrical surface provided by Y.the teeth 65 of the cutting knives are serrated stationary cutting knife 55 is arranged with the Y sharp points of its effective cutting teeth extending upwardly and the rotary knives during their effect movement past the stationary cutting knife 55 have their cutting points facing downwardly. The points of the stationary and rotary cutting blades preferably are arranged to pass in intermeshing relation so that the space between the rotary and stationary blades is of zig-zag form of uniform width.

vThe rotary cutter 3U is embraced by a screen 66 which is generally of semi-cylindrical shape and is provided at its opposite longitudinal edge with a iange G8, this flange being secured by screws 69 to the lower part of the cross bar 2l of the cutter frame. Along the lower longitudinal edge of the screen 66 is secured an angle iron '10', this angle iron being arranged to project outwardly from the corresponding edge of the screen and being secured at its ends to the' shelf 23 by screws 'll or in any other suitable manner. The screen 66 is made of sheet metal which is punched to provide a plurality of evenly spaced round perforations 13. This screen insures against oversize grain passing through the cutter. It will be noted that while a small amount of grain is carried around, inelfectively, bythe rotary cutter blades 40, the grain so carried around is very small in amount because the cutter head is cylindrical in form and the spacing between the periphery of the cutter head and the screen 66 is very small. By this means the churning of large amounts of grain in idly passing around with the cutter head is avoided and the consequent grinding action upon and heating of this grain is avoided. In cutting very large sized material this screen 66 can be eliminated, however.

in form and intermesh with one another it is apparent that practically all of the grain will be cut to a maximum size and will pass through the screen. Such small quantities as are not cut to this maximum size are carried around by the rotary knives 40 and brought back to the throat of the hopper 22. This is a very small quantity, however, and by reason of the cylindrical form of the rotary cutter head 35 there is no tendency for this partially cut grain to collect in the rotary cutter andv be carried around and around until it is ground down to the required maximum size as would be the case if the rotary cutter head were not cylindrical. Such grinding not only produces waste in the form of powder but also results in the highly undesirable result of heating the grain.

An important feature of the invention resides in the fact that the stationary blade 55 is mountedat an angle so that each rotary blade 4D is at an angle to the stationary blade when they meet andV so that the sharp edges of the rotary and stationary knives are in direct opposition as they approach each other with the bevels 63 of the stationary knife and the corresponding rotary knife 6U substantially parallel with each other at this time. By this angular arrangement of the stationary and rotary knives, as they meet, it has been found that the cutting efficiency of the cutter is greatly increased and the power required toy operate the cutter greatly reduced. A further feature of the invention resides in the provision of a built up rotary cutter of the character described. By making the rotary cutter in the form ofa simple shaft carrying square heads, to the faces ofwhich the knives are secured by backing plates, and by so shaping these backing plates that they' jointly provide a cylindrical surface for the body of the rotary cutter and also have two flat faces which abut the corresponding sides of two of the rotary cutter blades 40, it will be seen that the rotary cutter head 30 of the present invention can be produced at low cost and at the same time renders the knives readily accessible and Yremovable for adjustment, removal for resharpening and replacement.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the present invention provides a very simple and in- 4expensive cereal cutter which operates at high elciency and requires `a very small amount -of pow-er to run. The grain is also uniformly cut to a `maximum size Yand is Auniiforrr-ily graded. V'The cutter also avoids, as -far asposs'ible, all lgrinding action and heating of the grain, 'The rotary cutter head of the machine issalso'freadily assembled from simple parts .and the cutting Jolades easily adjustable thereby adapting 4it 'to -small batch work. 'The cutter is 'also easily Icleaned and repaired, is extremely compact and will stand up under fconditionsof severe and constant use without getting out of order.

I claim as my invention:

A substantially cylindrical, relatively light Weight,skeleton'like rotarygcutter head for 1a cereal cutter, comprising a .central shaft, a plurality of similarly Ishaped "heads secured to said shaft at spaced intervals and being polygonal in cross section Ito provide flat iaces which join at an angle to each other, said -faces being arranged `in common planes, at cutter blades direetlyfengag'ing said faces and having cutting edges projecting outwardly from the corresponding angles formed by said faces, a single backing plate for each of said flat cutter blades and each having a at face engaging the outer face of the corresponding cutter blade along a continuous longitudinal portion of the outer face 'of the cutter blade immediately adjacent `the outwardly projecting cutting edge thereof, and each backing plate `also having an opposite curved face meeti-ng said flat face -in a `feat-her edge `at one side of said vbacking plate and providing with the vcurved facesof lthe other backing plates a substantially cylindrical and continuous periphery for Vthe r0- taryeuttery with the cutting edges ofsaid blades 4projecting outwardly `from said periphery and each backing plate also having a 4second flat face Yopposite vsaid feather edge and arranged at an angle to said first at face which is complementary to the angles vformed by said polygonal flat faces and 4directly engaging the inner face of the succeeding cutter blade lalong a continuous longitudinal portion of the inner face of the said succeeding cutter blade immediately 'adjacent the outwardly projecting cutting edge thereof to form a backing ysupport there-for, said backing plate being also vinteriorly hollowed out, and means securing veach of said backing plates and the corresponding cutter blade to the corresponding face of each of said heads.v

FRED C. IELFIELD. 

